Sunrider:The Noble Requiem
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: Two Spartan brothers and their AI Companion, a copy of the 'Smart' AI Cortana, find themselves stranded in a new Galaxy, with a new war to fight, new allies and new friends, as well as new foes. Political intrigue, backstabbing, backroom deals and such are many of the problems these soldiers will face with this new war... Will they be able to cope with it? (Shadow of Noble Rewrite)
1. Prologue:Shocking Arrival

**_AN:Alright! Time to start that rewrite I told myself I would start so many times in the past! Welcome back to Halo:The Mask of the Noble(Sunrider:Shadow of Noble)! Rewritten in all of its mighty glory! I might combine all 3 episodes into this story (First Arrival, but at its last stages, Mask of Arcadius and Liberation Day) to have it be a longer story. So, enjoy!_**

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 ** _Sunrider:T-04:00 hours prior to operation 'Wedding Crash'._**

 _Surrounded..._

The Crew of the _Sunrider_ had been surrounded by a PACT Fleet hours ago, right after rescuing another pilot out of certain death at the hands of Lost Technology and a narrow escape. Drawing up battle plans for the Rescue, Captain Kayto Shields sat, leaning against his desk, using his hands as support and staring at the multitude of Holographic Screens ahead of him. The planet of Ryuvia Prime, owned by the Red Fleet of the PACT Armada, stood ahead of them as a sort of incredulously large target to hit. The man ran a hand through his pure-white hair, sighed and looked back at the picture frame on the shelves. The picture of his younger sister, Maray, at her first day of kindergarten. A last memory he had of her from before the event...

The man was taken out of his trance upon hearing the ringing at the door. He tapped a few commands into the holo-keyboard, then yelled to the one on the other side "Come in!" eyes still sweeping the screen. The plans to rescue the Princess of Ryuvia and their former comrade stood ahead of him, nearly complete, so he gave himself a moment to rest, setting the screens to the tab and watching his Executive Officer walking up the stairs. The woman pushed a bit of her dark-brown hair back behind her shoulder, her cherry eyes focused on her Com bracelet.

"Ava." Kayto said idly.

"Captain." The woman answered him, chopping a hand to her forehead promptly. Kayto stood up and saluted back, then showed her to take a seat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. The man himself took his seat back behind the desk and watched Ava Crescentia, daughter of a prominent Ceran Admiral of the Fleet, well, formerly, take her seat in front of him.

"Any news? How's the crew handling our next op?" Asked the captain nonchalantly, trying to keep a friendly atmosphere even in their currently precarious situation. Their next targeted operation, aptly named 'Wedding Crash' could well be considered a Suicide Mission by any military's standards. Planning a jump dead-center inside the enemy fleet and initiating a rescue operation while the PACT was too dazed at what just happened, to surprised to respond... It was going to be a daring move, to say the least... They both knew that.

"They all know their posts..." Ava murmured, then looked up to the captain "Are you sure you are willing to risk our entire ship and the rest of our crew just for a single girl?" She then worriedly asked. Kayto hummed, nodded and said "Yes... It would be a strategic victory to have Asaga back in more than one way. First being that the bastards wouldn't have access to the Ryuvians' most advanced technology without her... Second, it'd be a boost for morale after the asskicking we just took there... And the Bonus:She's one of us Ava. Has been since the start, nearly two months ago."

Ava stared at him without saying another word, then nodded and said "Very well... Repairs to the ship are nearly done. We should be combat-ready within the next hour. Need help drafting the battle plans?"

"Thanks, Ava." Kayto smiled, nodding. He pushed the folders toward her com bracelet and said "I worked through most of the data I could... So I leave the rest in your capable hands, Commander."

Ava stood up, straightened and saluted, to which Kayto gave the same response. Their com bracelets flared before she could say another word. It was seemingly a yellow alert, so the two tapped their bracelets, only for the face of a Radar Officer to appear ahead of him. " _Ma'am, sir! Unknown signature detected, approaching from Warp. Port-side. Recommend you come to the bridge."_

Kayto jumped out of his seat, then looked to Ava, who followed him, prompting her com Bracelet's Holo-display. She tapped a few lines of code in as they ran, patching herself into the PA System, then yelled over into the microphone "All hands! Battle Stations! Unknown contact incoming port-side! Engage yellow alert!" And she flicked it off and moved at a faster pace beside Kayto. Alarms blared around the ship's hallways as the two rushed toward the front of the ship, right to the elevators and down to deck 02, where the bridge resided. Walking into it, several Ensigns saluted, to which the commanding duo saluted back quickly and took their positions.

Kayto, taking his seat in his captain's chair, ordered "Have all Ryders ready to scramble... We don't know what we might be meeting."

"Copy that. All present units report mission a-go..." Ava nodded to him, then said "Phoenix, Liberty and Seraphim are out." Calmly examining data from each Ryder-type Mech. She watched the three aircraft fly out and form a Phalanx, or Vee-Formation, preparing for the arrival. The Radar officer looked back and said "ETA to target arrival:3..." making Ava and the Captain and, possibly, their very pilots tense.

"2..."

The three outside readied themselves for combat, while their ship's doctor prepared the medbay in case whoever was aboard may just be looking for help. Paid to be optimistic at times...

"1..."

A flash outside emerged in the inky darkness of space and, immediately upon their sights, came a small drop ship. It looked like a military transport vessel of sorts, but made to only carry some supplies and a lot of troops in its back. Ava looked to Kayto, then nodded and said "Initial scans reveal no power to the ship's systems. Two life signs aboard, one critical."

"Bring'em aboard, everyone! Claude, status on the medbay?" The captain asked via radio, receiving the sharp voice of a young woman. Their pink-haired doctor answered "We're a-go! Everything's warm and waiting for the wounded." jovially. Kayto nodded, closed the call and looked to Ava. He stood up and said "C'mon. We're gonna go greet whoever is aboard that ship."

"Understood." Ava said, grabbing her holo-tab and taking her position beside Kayto. The girl kept her hand wrapped around the holster for her pistol as they walked toward the elevator and down into the Hangar at DECK 00. Walking on-deck to the cavernous hangar and its 12-Ryder hangar, the Captain cast a quick glance toward Holding Cradle 3, where the Black Jack, their kidnapped pilot's Ryder was. The heavily-armored and heavily-armed Mech lay there, motionless... All while the other Ryders came back aboard. In the middle of the hangar, surrounded by a squad of Ceran Marines carrying automatic weapons, was the unknown shuttle, a vessel fo such weird design it made almost no sense to the man and his CO.

Gunmetal-Green, half-boxy, half aero-dynamic, bristling with weapons and able to fit two squads into its back. Farther back, moved away from the vehicle, a pallet with four boxes, all painted the same color. It had the word _Marines_ etched in fading white writing on its landing gear, which'd been extended in the back to allow the aircraft to settle down on the straight floor of steel of the _Sunrider's_ Hangar. Icari, Chigara and Sola joined the two on-deck, with the frail, white-haired markswoman of the team keeping her amber eyes locked onto the unknown, with quite the inquisitive look. Icari, the black-haired swords-girl with a ponytail and emerald eyes walked toward the gunship, arms crossed as she examined its chain gun, a weapon mounted at the nose of the vic.

Chigara, the petite, lilac-haired engineer of the team was walking beside Icari, mouth agape and blue eyes locked on the military marvel before her. The cockpit in the front had its glass shaded black, so no one could see inside... Alas... Kayto walked beside the Marine Master Sergeant, then looked to him and asked "What's the situation?" To which the Sergeant saluted and said "Nothing we can see yet... But the life-signs are moving about."

The Captain sighed, crossed his arms and nodded, then walked toward the back hatch of the vehicle, fingers wrapped around the holster of his gun, before he felt Ava's hand yanking him back. The two exchanged glances, then Ava demanded "What do you think you're doing?" Angrily holding the Captain back. The man sighed, pointed at the vehicle, then said "Going to take a closer look. We need to know who's inside."

Ava sighed, drew her sidearm and nodded, then said "Very well..." Before stepping up ahead of him and pressing an emergency release button at the hatch's forefront. The two backed off, with Ava aiming her pistol ahead as the back hatch, formed of a window and a steel plate with an indentation, slid apart and opened... A single shot came out of the hold and the gun was knocked out of Ava's hand. A set of boots clanking and metal dragging agaisnt metal sounded off and a pair of soldiers, wearing titanic armors, appeared out of the hold, one holding the other up and aiming his very odd gun at the crew of the ship.

The two seemed to have polar-opposite colors of armor. While one had dark-red as the main color, with light-blue accents, the other had the exact reverse. Both of them wore the same type of armor, however. It was battle-damaged, with dozens of burns and what looked like energy weapon scarring, as well as thick cuts on the blue-wearing one. It was also bulky, heavy and with a helmet that much resembled how a Ninja would look, with the visor, a vision slit with black all around the rest of the face. One of the two carried a strange, circular-shaped glass and metal container on his back, which was shining blue. The soldier growled, sighed and lowered his pistol, then heard his comrade grunt. He holstered the gun, set down the soldier and removed his helmet, tossing it aside and making it skip against the hard metal floor, before coming to a stop in front of the Captain, a broken blue husk with several cracks in the visor, as well as scorch marks.

Noticing the wounds on the one without the helmet, the Captain ran beside the two and examined him better. Two-color hair, half dark-blue and half crimson, several cuts across his face, his eyes barely open as he looked up at the ceiling of the Hangar. The boy coughed violently, then exhaled and whispered something. His comrade leaned in and he whispered again, to which the red-wearing man nodded. He took his helmet off his head, placed it by his hip, then stood up and raised his arms, showing his surrender. Standing straight, his bipolar eyes, one crimson and one dark-blue, both locked onto the captain, he asked in a relatively calm voice "We need help... My brother sustained severe injuries. He needs immediate medical care, otherwise I'm gonna lose the last family I have left alive in this god-forsaken Galaxy."

Kayto could tell from the man's voice it was genuine. That and the fact the other soldier's armor was so screwed up and full of combat scarring that he didn't need any extra confirmation. Kayto nodded, looked to the man, then said "Drop all of your weapons and we'll help... Don't want to risk getting shot in the back here." Calmly. The boy nodded, withdrew his weapons from his back and hips and threw them aside. Kayto looked to a pair of marines and said "Help him carry his brother the hell out of here and to the Sickbay! Then get him to the Brig! I bet he can give us some pretty interesting info."

"Thank you..." The soldier nodded, to which Kayto shook his head and said "Don't thank us. We haven't saved your brother yet." Then he walked away. After the soldier and the Marines had taken the man's brother into the Medical Bay, where the Doctor was nowhere to be found, the still-awake one, baffled by where they were, found himself sitting in the brig, his helmet by him on the bed, the Captain and his XO ahead of him and two Marines with high-powered rifles guarding the door. Kayto read through the manifest of the boxes on board the soldier's gunship. Heavy weapons, explosives and enough ammo to supply said weapons for a good few years, as well as a box full of food and medical supplies of unknown origin.

Kayto sighed, setting the Holo-tablet down, leaned his chin onto his hands, then asked "Are you and your brother Pirates?"

"No." The soldier answered, keeping eye contact with the Captain. "We're military assets carrying a highly-valuable secondary Package..." And he patted the thing on his back "A copy of something very important to our people lies on this chip... My brother managed to deliver the Original to its owners, so this left us with the backup for... Emergencies... And I'm saying nothing more."

"You called yourselves 'assets'... Aren't you soldiers?" Ava asked, looking at the soldier, her arms crossed and posture straight.

He shook his head, then said "We're Spartans... We're considered War Assets, not soldiers. Quoting my handler officer, 'Spartans are worth a company of men, a cruiser and a brigade of tanks out there'. I'll add a bit to that:Especially if they're as high-ranked as me and my brother."

"Very well..." Kayto nodded to him. "Any more info you'd like to share?"

"Nothing." Answered the boy, picking up his helmet.

"Any name you'd like to give us?" Ava asked, crossing her arms. The Spartan sighed, then nodded and said "Call my brother Six. I'm Seven in this case." And he stood up, then walked toward the captain and commander, towering nearly a head over both of them. Crossing his arms as Kayto stood up from his seated position, the Spartan looked at both of them, then said "Before we came aboard... I saw severe damage to the outside of the ship. Scorch marks, heavy magnetic battery fire, rocket detonations, holes in the hull... Et-cetera... And considering from the file tabbed 'Rescue Plans' on your holo-communication devices," he tilted his head toward Ava's bracelet screen "I'd say one of your crewmen was taken... Some VIP. Perhaps a leader of one of the non-aligned planets?"

"H-How..." Ava stuttered, her eyes wide as she stared at Seven with awe. The Spartan raised his hand, stopping her, then said "Call it intuition..." And he nodded to them "IF you need help with planning the rescue, I'm your man." And he added "If you do require my aid, that is... I assure you, my brother will follow if I go through with this." And Ava and Kayto exchanged glances, then Kayto nodded and looked to him. "If this is some sort of joke or trick... I'm sure my soldiers can gun you down with ease. Eitherway... Welcome to the squad for now."


	2. Awakened

_**Medbay. An hour later...**_

 _ **-Play As I Figure by Kevin MacLeod-**_

Six' eyes slowly opened, to the sight of a pure white light above him. Had he died? He did take an energy dagger and three sword slashes, as well as dozens of Plasma Projectiles, so it was only plausible for him to have gotten killed. Breathing in, then out, he felt a mask on his face and, attempting to move his limbs, he found himself incapacitated. He also felt much lighter than before. Clenching his fists, his palms rubbed against leather... Finally opening his eyes as they adjusted to the light, the Spartan found he was in a sickbay, rather than in heaven or hell... Or whatever else... Looking to his left, he saw two more beds, with three circular devices that were currently idle and, looking up above him, he saw the same 3 devices, a host of medical scanners, ER and X-Ray systems, all non-lethal. He exhaled, then, as a shadow came over him, he looked to the right...

To be greeted by a young woman's massive chest. The Spartan's eyes widened in shock upon sighting the uniform she was in, that of a naughty nurse, then looked up at the woman, to lock glances with her as sweat dropped down his brow. The entire uniform was hugging her curvy frame tightly around the chest and rear and it was rather distracting... The woman, who had lilac eyes and pink bubblegum hair, smiled, then said in a really high-pitched voice "Ah. Our wounded guest is awake. I'm glad to see the treatments had an effect."

The boy, wordless, looked down at himself in the bed, without any clothing but his underwear. A bit flustered, he looked up at the girl and asked "H-Hey... Doc... How long have I been out for?" in a stutter. The girl looked to him and tapped her lower lip with her index. She nodded and said "About an hour since winding up aboard." And she turned back to the table beside his bed.

The Spartan exhaled, then said "How bad were the injuries?"

"Two stab wounds through the chest, several cuts and bruises and a face so burnt to a crisp and full of glass shards, you could barely tell it was even a face." the doctor nonchalantly stated, checking her syringes and gear. She gave him a warm smile, then said "But for all that's good, the Nanomachines in our tank over there" She tilted her head toward a tank full of orange liquid "Helped you survive." And she nodded to him, then patted him on the shoulder and pressed a few buttons, allowing the boy to move and the systems to slide away. The Spartan stood up onto his rear, to the side of the table and then stood up, arranging his boxer shorts on his person. He sighed, then looked to the woman and asked "Where's my armor?"

His answer, a jet-black male sailor uniform in his face. The woman picked up a holographic data tablet and said "R&D. You have a comm bracelet with that attire." And she winked at him "Go check the ship out. Your brother'll be with the Captain on the bridge, probably preparing the rescue mission." To which the soldier sighed and nodded, then put on his clothes quickly, strapped the bracelet to his arm and started walking toward the door. He looked back before leaving and said "Hey, doc!" Making the pink-haired one look back at him. He smiled, then gave her a thumbs up and said "Thanks for the help." And he nodded to her, then stepped out into the rounded corridor.

Walking through, he was greeted by the weary eyes of several soldiers, carrying bulky assault rifles and glaring at him from behind jet-black facemasks with silver visors. They looked like 21st Century infantry, but with heavier guns. The guns also had ACOG x2 Scopes that allowed for longer-distance shots. Walking through, the soldier immediately felt a hand grasp onto his shoulder. Looking to his right, he saw a young woman, with jet-black, long hair caught in a ponytail behind her head and emerald eyes. She was clad in a black sailor girl uniform with a white collar and orange accents, which included the scarf.

"Something the matter, ma'am?" Asked the boy, turning about. She shook her head, then said "No. I have orders from the Captain to bring you to the bridge. Your brother is already there, helping with the planning for Operation:Wedding Crasher."

"Operation:Wedding Crasher?" Six' eyebrows quirked up questioningly. The black-haired girl nodded and said "C'mon."

Walking through the corridors, past security guards, Marines and other non-combat ship-side personnel, the boy followed the girl closely. He noticed she had a gun holster on her hip, with a strangely-shaped weapon clipped in it. He could try to take the gun, but that'd cause every soldier around him to cock, lock and aim their guns at him. He'd be swiss cheese by the time he even got to kill the girl. The soldiers were on their toes, clearly, as each and every one of them was at their posts, stiff as rods and with their weapons' safeties off, fingers loosely hanging beside the triggers as they eyed him.

"Ignore them." The girl said, looking back at him. He simply nodded and said "I didn't get to ask your name... Nor your creepy doc's, in fact."

"I'm Icari Isidolde. A pilot aboard this ship as part of its Ryder complement. Boob Rockets', or doc's name is Claude Triello. She's a... Wee bit loony." Icari responded calmly to the boy. "What's your name, then? You have to have one."

"I'm... I'm Noble Six." The boy said. Icari smirked, then said "Noble Six, huh. Your brother's Seven, then."

"Yeah. Say... What's Operation:Wedding Crasher?" The boy found in himself to ask. Icari responded calmly "A plan of attack made by our Captain to recover one of our comrades... A very important political figure and a fine Ryder pilot. Don't tell her I said that last part though. Redhead is gonna get all pompous after hearing it. And I won't survive to hear the end of it."

"Got it..." Six responded stiffly, still slightly confused. Icari sighed.

"Let's just go." Icari took the lead again as they walked past rushing crew. "So, what are you any way, Six? From the armor we had to basically scrape off of you, you and your brother are something else. Neither PACT, nor our folks. Pirates, perhaps?"

"Special ops. Spartans. We're... Probably from another military" He responded calmly, scanning his surroundings. The ship seemed relatively similar to the UNSC's vessels, so perhaps they'd actually been rescued by their own. Some new ONI branch, maybe? The uniforms sure didn't look properly UNSC. He'd have to have a chat with the Captain. The PACT, though... "What's the PACT? And, speaking of my armor and gear, where the hell is it?"

Icari looked toward him and calmly responded "Your gear's in the deck 02 Armory, safe, sound and repaired. As for the PACT, well, to put it shortly, they're an alliance of crazy, red-wearing bastards out to hound and kill all of us who oppose them, as well as to conquer the galaxy. They're ruled by Veniczars, the top of their commanders and somewhat mad religious activists."

" _Seems familiar..."_ Six bitterly thought, scowling. "They aliens?"

"What? No. We've not encountered any intelligent life forms aside from humans in this galaxy, Six." The woman responded, crossing her arms as they took a turn to the left. Six' eyes widened in shock as he asked "And what're the other powers doing to counter these guys?"

"The Solar Alliance is the only other power around... And they're sitting there, twiddlin' their thumbs thanks to a decision we had to make." Icari responded, somewhat spitefully... The girl proceeded to sigh and calm down, then shake her head "But the decision was for the best... It gave us time to prep and less heavy hearts, considering we're already killing hundreds of PACT troops..." She looked to the confused Six, then smirked and said "A story we'll tell ya and your brother some other time... After we're out of this fucking mess."

"Alright then..." Six sighed.

Entering through a sealed door into a large conference room, which housed in its center a rounded holotable, the Space Marine smirked, seeing his brother, clad in his full MJOLNIR armor with his own color pallette, then nodded and said "Brother." to which the young man turned, extended his hands and said "Welcome back, Brother!" and promptly jerked him into a hug. The sixth coughed, then said "Not... in... Armor..." making his brother back off, nod and say "The Deathwatch welcomes thee back to the world of the living, Brother."

"I wouldn't see myself fall so easily." The soldier smiled, nodding. He looked toward a pair of crewmen, a male and female clad in officer's gear, standing in front of him, then saluted and said "You must be the Captain and his XO, the Commander. A pleasure to meet you both..."

"I'm Captain Kayto Shields." The white haired boy nodded with a smile "Likewise, Six."

"Commander Ava Crescentia... Indeed, a pleasure to meet you too." The brown-haired girl continued politely. Six caught a glimpse of maps on the holodeck ahead, then sighed and walked up to them, leaning against the deck's side calmly. He examined images of a cathedral-like floating station and its interiors. The maps were scribbled with entry points, arrows, targets and, on the altar of the thing, 'VIP location'. He'd only been out for an hour and his brother already helped devise a fucking tactical genius right there. Smirking, the boy looked to his brother, then said "Plan looks as fine as ever, Creed."

"Hehe..." Nodded Sev, looking at the map "No room in there for Baneblades, but hey... We can fit dozens of Ceran marines aboard some drop pods..."

"Already retrofitted by our Chief Engineer for the assault." Ava nodded to Six. The Spartan gazed around the room, then said "Then what the hell did you wake me up for? You guys seem bloody good and ready."

Icari nodded, then said "Your brother wanted us to resurrect you... Said we may need two Spartans for the mission."

"You will." Sev responded. He then looked to his brother and said "C'mon. Let's go get your armor on."

"Icari. Get Kryska and escort the gents to the armory... We'll return for the bridge and prep for battle." Kayto said to his subordinate. The woman nodded and said "Right this way, lads." before walking out of the room with the two soldiers in tow. The trip through the hallways of the ship to the armory was rather quiet, save for the additional question about the _Sunrider's_ capabilities. Going into the place at the center of the ship's crew quarters, they found the inside full of weapons lockers and armor stands. On the tallest one in the middle of the room resided a Jet-black armor, with scratches and marks across it, as well as a new, blue-tinted visor over the normal orange one it usually had...

"Had to pick a new paintjob since the last one was shot to shit... Figure that you wanted something to go with our current Modus Operandi." Sev told Six calmly. "So, Black took priority here." then nodded and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Put it on, buddy." and he stepped out of the room with the two girls, allowing for Six to gear up. It was gonna take a few minutes to properly gear up, but the mission about to start was gonna be a tough one for both Nobles, but they'd been through worse. Rack, tap and BANG.


	3. Wedding Crashers

_**Drop Pods. Preparation for Launch of operation "Wedding Crash"**_

Sev loaded up his Assault Rifle, eyes locked onto the Ceran marines around him, all of them clad in bleach-white armors with red stripes on both arms and carrying heavy ballistic rifles. Each weapon was boxy and held a clip carrying 15 rounds(Fact made evident by the number on the rifle's side) with no under-barrel attachment. The CO of the Marines nodded to the Spartan, then said "Good to have you on board. Heard you were part of the plan to make our situation better."

"If I can reduce losses for friendlies in an OP, even if by a little, it's a good day." Sev said nonchalantly, sliding his AR on his back, before picking up a Shotgun. He loaded the shells at the top, one by one, quickly, before clicking the pump and sliding that on his back as well. He then took his pistol, racked it back to see ammo still inside, slid it onto his hip and finally, he took up his DMR and slammed a 7.62 clip into it and racking its bolt. He held it to his side, pointed at the floor and with the safety on, before looking back to see Captain Shields approaching, Commander Crescentia behind, looking displeased.

The Spartan and Marines saluted, before Sev shook Kayto's hand and said "I'm going with, Seven." to which the Spartan looked upon him, then Ava. The woman rolled her eyes, sighed with deep dismay and said "As much as I oppose the idea, he is the Captain... I'll be on-deck commanding the _Sunrider's_ Ops until then..." to which Sev nodded, then asked "Where's Six?"

The doors to the left slid open, to reveal a man clad in matte-black MJOLNIR armor set, a very custom one. On his back was a sniper rifle, an SMG and an M6/SOCOM on his hip. He smirked behind his helmet, then said "Kept ya waiting, huh?" before his brother nodded and extended his hand "You look good, brother." and the two laughed. Six nodded and saluted Kayto and Ava, then said "Ready to go and knock some heads together, Capt'n."

Kayto smiled, then saluted and said "Good, 'cause I'm coming with. Ava's opposing it, but you know."

"Locked, Cocked and Loaded, capt'n. We got your back." Six nodded proudly, thumbing the safety of his AR to on. The Captain's smile never faded as he nodded, looked to Ava and saluted, then said "Get up top, Ava. Tell the girls to prep for Operation:Wedding Crash. I want the Warp Drive go-ready in Five." to which the young Commander nodded, then saluted and responded sternly, her features not betraying of any emotion "Aye aye, captain..." before she swiveled about and walked away, her heels colliding with the floor grating below.

Kayto looked to the Spartans, then donned on a personal shield and a composite armor vest for his own safety and said "Ready to go?"

Six snorted "Ready, Sir? Spartans are always ready. And so are the Marines! AM I RIGHT, BOYS AND GIRLS!?"

"OO-RAH!" The thirteen white-armored soldiers yelled, pounding their chests once. Kayto nodded, then, without another word, boarded the massive drop pod. The soldiers soon followed inside, Marines first, each lining up next to and around the captain. The Spartans entered last, seating at the front of the pod, right at the mouth which would bust a hole through the Ryuvian Star Palace's hull and allow them entry. The Spartans settled their hand-held weapons beside them, then looked to each-other, as if speaking telepathically. Not a word came out of their mouths and the marines all regarded them with an air of respect, if not a modicum of fear.

Ava's voice came over the PA " _All hands, to your battlestations! We're issuing Red Alert! The moment we break Warp, I want all batteries ready to open fire, both primary and secondary, as we will be jumping right into the Maw of a PACT fleet. They will not be expecting it, so by the time the Captain and his raiding party have recovered the Package, I want us to fire the first salvo of Kinetic weapons and missiles, then be out as soon as possible! Commander Crescentia, acting officer on the bridge of the_ Sunrider, _out!"_

Alarms wailed and the lighting turned crimson as crew members rushed around outside of the pods to man their stations. Soon, the group felt pits in their stomach as the thrumming of the Warp drive sounded off and the entire ship shuddered for a brief moment, before ringing came upon the soldiers' and crew's ears and finally, the quiet hum of discharging plasma sounded off as the ship entered Warp. Kayto looked to the Spartans, then asked "Any recomforting words or speeches you can give us, boys? Maybe a mantra or something to recite?"

The two Spartans looked at the captain, then at each other and simply nodded, before Six started:"The eagle born to those who pledged their lives and sacred honor was smiled upon by God and freed from chains and iron collar, he is held aloft on unity and by history revered, for preserving peace, through strength his wings now reach across Five hundred years!" then the two boys spoke together, proudly " _But for each of those and one year more, God has smiled upon the Corps, from the Barbary coast to the eastern sand, by sword, by gun, or by bare hand! So it's been and shall be weighed, though many are born, few are "made". Faithful Always, they shall remain, dogs to loose when war is waged!"_

"The fuck was that from?" asked a female Marine, keeping her rifle close.

"The Code of the Marine. Sincerely, I'm shocked you don't know it, girl." Six mocked, before readying his rifle. The girl rolled her eyes behind her helmet... Suddenly, the entire crew aboard the cramped pod and probably everyone else outside felt the deceleration. Ava's voice once more boomed over the PA " _We've exited warp and_ w _e're right over the Palace! operation:Wedding Crash is a-go! All pods, deploy!"_

The thunk of decoupling rung across the whole of the pod, before its RCS thrusters pushed it back and way from the ship and aimed it toward the Ryuvian palace. In one quick glimpse, the Spartans spotted the red hulls of the PACT navy, supposedly the bad guys. The sound of the pod's main engine reverberated through the entire hull of the small insertion vehicle, before its outer claws extended and it slammed right into the side of the palace's main hall, knocking a mighty big hole in a wall. The Spartans looked up, then Six hit the green light and kicked the door open, before registering a target up ahead... A bastard clad in red emerged from the smoke, stumbling and hands clasped around a strange rifle. The Spartan wouldn't wait for the fucker to fire first. He knelt and fired six rounds into the man. A red shield shimmered, then suddenly died and the last two rounds pierced his chest plate, drawing first blood.

Two more PACT soldiers appeared. The bastards were clad in the most villainous fucking armor they could think up. Capes and such on the officers and blood-red paint. Sev knew better than to let these cheap Disney villains live. His shotgun thundered, blood spilled and armor shattered. Another crack from a Ceran Rifleman's rifle and six Magnetic shots hit the bastard right in the shield. Six dived in and delivered a swift kick to the man's chest, breaking shield and cracking armor, before he drew his sniper and fired at another pair of approaching enemy soldiers, the bullet tearing through both of their heads and blasting them into fine red mist with a single shot.

The Marines dived behind them, taking cover on each side of a pair of massive doors, followed by Kayto, who was close behind. The Captain's eyes were wide as he saw the dead bodies laying on the floor. Several PACT infantrymen were dead or dying on the floor, like they were hit by a freight train. Six and Sev were at the front of both lines of soldiers, one on the left and one on the right. The two nodded to each other, then signaled their marines and, with strength, kicked both doors in and wide apart and open, before each fell to a knee and raised their Assault Rifles.

Both guns chattered and several more PACT creds fell with holes through their heads, shot for shot the two Spartans jumped to their feet and proceeded to sweep the entire chapel hall clear. Six looked to his right, to see a woman with red hair, clad in a very intricate wedding gown and beside her, three men, one with a strange mask with pointy ears, who had a familiar air about him(Probably the lilac hair), a fat man clad in an officer's uniform and a younger man clad in a cape with the officer's gear underneath... Officers, god damn!

Kayto rushed inside, drawing his pistol and firing toward a pair of PACT soldiers, before yelling "Asaga! We're here!" to which the girl gasped, her Emerald eyes widening "CAPT'N!" and she looked back. Stomping her heel's sharp end onto the fat man's foot, he let go of her, before stumbling back and crying in pain. Kayto grabbed the girl in a bridal carry, then looked to the man in the mask as he swiveled about and said "Sorry, Arcadius! Looks like this wedding's been annulled!" before running back toward the door. The Spartans looked to each-other, then nodded, before following the captain.

Lead and magnetic slugs flew to and fro and the two Spartans saw two snipers fall from the top cupola, shot by a pistol, before looking back to see the girl they were rescuing had shot them with the Captain's pistol, nonetheless. The Spartans soon opened fire on the officers, all of whom were forced to duck in cover with their guard, before the two rushed out and joined up with Kayto, the Marines and the girl, who stared at them with awe.

"Who the hell are these guys, Capt'n?!" The Girl demanded, looking at them.

"Friendly neighborhood badasses, sweet cheeks." Six responded as they boarded the pod. This thing was also a return vehicle. The Marines came aboard next and the Spartans. The vehicle unhinged itself from the side of the palace, then went up and back into the ship. Soon, swarms of Hell Dart missiles flew out from the main hull of the vessel and struck the closest PACT vessels with impunity. Finally, the ship's superstructure shuddered just as they docked back in. The Spartans popped the door open and waved everyone out, before sliding their weapons on their backs.

"We'll be manning our Pelican. It's got plenty of weapons." Sev nodded to the Captain. "We'll all evacuate! Good luck up there!"

And with that, they left for the Hangar... Asaga looked to Kayto, then uttered something out, tearing up. The Captain soon received a palm across the left side of his face, before the girl hugged him and smiled "You came back... Even if I told you not to, you came back..." to which Kayto smiled and said "Of course. You're part of our crew, Asaga. Like it or not, we'll always have your back."

The girl looked at him, then with pride and tears welling in her eyes, she brought her hand up to her forehead and said "Asaga Oakrun vi Ryuvia, reporting for duty, sah!"

"We kept the Black Jack warm for you. Gear up and get to it... I'll be on the bridge." The Captain nodded, before patting her on the shoulder and moving toward the turbolift. Within moments, he'd reached the top of the tower and walked in toward his chair and sat down, before asking "Status?" as he looked at the outside hornet's nest stirring up. Ava nodded and said "All PACT ships have powered up and we can't jump yet. We have to clear the gravity field of the planet while our Warp drive recharges. I suggest deploying the Ryders ahead to help us fend off the enemy forces while we prepare."

Kayto nodded and said "Do it. Have our guests deploy with their gunship too..." and he saw the Ryuvian moon "Can't we slingshot around that to clear our path before jumping" to which Ava nodded and said "Possible... Calculating vectors... Yeah, we can do it."

Kayto nodded, then said "FULL POWER TO ENGINES! Launch all Ryders and the Gunship!"

The ship's engines thundered, making the vessel's hull groan as it boosted out from above the palace. Several PACT ships, crimson dots in the distance, soon powered up and engaged their main engines and secondary thrusters, moving at best speed toward the _Sunrider_ just as the Ryders launched to clear a path. Soon, the Pelican followed the massive mechs out of the hangar, boosting its thrusters to afterburner to keep up with the five. Aboard it, the two Spartans flew cohesively, with Six manning the guns while Sev piloted.

"Enemy mechs on approach vector 2-5. I've got missile lock." Six reported with a monotone voice. Sev nodded and said "Launch the moment they're in range to fire, brother. We don't know what kind of countermeasures the Red bastards have." just as crimson lasers sped past them, striking nothing but space. Several of the smaller PACT craft, humanoid Ryder mechs that were carrying a laser cannon array and a FLAK 'pistol' approached fast. The Crimson Mooks would soon fall... Sev took the ship forth at full speed, then told the squadron around "We're engaging... Brother, Fox Two!"

Four rockets left contrails in the darkness of space and arched toward two mechs... The mechs raised their left arms, the ones holding the FLAK guns, and opened fire. Explosions burst into view of the starry night, but no rocket was destroyed as they tried to fire... Two rockets burst right into the main body of one of the mechs, then detonated from the inside, shattering the craft's hull and whoever was inside. The second set of missiles struck its comrade, making sure it suffered the same fate. Soon, the Spartans began receiving fire from more Mooks.

Six watched as two of their allied Ryder craft formed up with them. The two were the Black Jack, the craft of the girl they'd just rescued and, of course, the Phoenix, the Ryder of Icari. The former was a heavily armed energy weapon platform that flew smoothly and graciously through the enemy guns firing at them, while the other was a stealthy, slim design with twin swords that resembled a Samurai's.

The Pelican began to bob and weave through rockets, laser fire and flak as the enemy fleet finally regained composure and began to give chase. The Autocannon at the nose of the Gunship rattled, High-Explosive shells detonating around the enemy mechs with impunity, shrapnel implanting into their armor and rockets burning through their plates. The vehicle spun in an aeleron roll and spun, dumping flares as it flew.

Following it, the five Ryders opened up with all available armament as the craft plunged into combat, firing lasers, FLAK and missiles toward the advancing enemy craft, just as four enemy battleships appeared into view. The _Sunrider_ followed close behind, as its kinetic Savior batteries opened up. Six burning white shells of tungsten lunged out into the cold space, three struck one ship, two missed and one glanced off the side of another. The Flak batteries of the battleships directed their fire toward the Ryder squadron with the Pelican in the lead. A curtain of fire exploded suddenly around the crew as they were forced to scatter, as not to fall to the artillery coming toward them.

Black Jack's topside four Laser batteries aligned. Asaga smirked as she put her finger over the trigger for the laser weapons, surveying the battlefield as gatling fire and rockets exploded around'em, then locked onto a PACT Bomber and yelled "IMMA FIRIN' MAH LASER!" as she squeezed. The energy beam cannons charged at the tips of the rods that held the magnetic containment field in place, then ejected into a stream of four highly-focused energy shots. The Bomber raised its gatling to try and greet Asaga's Black Jack as it flew toward the enemy Ryder.

The blue beams cut a criss-crossing pattern across the chest of the heavily-armored Bomber, melting armor and probably killing the pilot that resided in the chest cavity Three-Dimensional View Pod, what served as the cockpit, a spherical holographic display that showed everything going on around the pilot. The shots probably fried whoever was inside just as the vehicle exploded into smithereens.

Responding to the threat were four Mooks. Asaga felt her vehicle shake as explosions from Flak blossomed around her, but soon, she saw two more beams of cobalt energy strike a mook, before Chigara's Liberty dived in. The Ryder, a support vehicle' extended its anti-kinetic shield and opened up its energy shield emitters off onto the sides. The lilac-haired girl's face and flightsuit-clad form appeared on a screen to the right of Asaga, smiling. She nodded, then said "I have your back, as always!"

"Thanks, Chigs!" Asaga gave her a hearty thumbs up, before the two took up formation and started flying together. Back behind them, Sola aimed Seraphim's rifle directly toward one of the carriers. Her 3DVP zoomed in via sensors onto the locked target's bridge, before she nodded and pressed one trigger of her control sticks' two. The rifle began to charge, before it spewed a bolt of cobalt energy and kinetic power right through into the enemy ship's command deck, blasting apart the entire conning tower in a beautiful detonation.

Claude, the doctor, all the while, got close and personal in Bianca, her Ryder, utilizing her gravity gun to yank the enemy fast-movers close, before blasting them head-first with what acted like a Flak Shotgun. She was wearing her trademark devious smile all the while she was doing this. On board the Pelican, Six grimaced as he felt the Flak reverberate across the entire superstructure of the Pelican... He looked to his brother, then said "Do we still have that Tac-Nuke loaded?"

"Yeah. I've already hit the unlock codes. You just aim it where you want it to hit... We still have that battleship, so I'm imagining..."

"You got it right, brother." Six nodded, before linking his helmet to the Nuke's targeting system. Meanwhile, he spewed lead from the autocannon right through a bunch of mooks lining up to fire at them. The nuclear missile loaded aboard the transport was a Mark IV HAVOK Nuke, a tactical nuclear device capable of disabling a small starship. Or in this case, if aimed right, disabling a fuckhuge battleship... The damned thing was a craft bristling with enough armament to level entire cities. The crimson paintjob and the look of what was basically a Yamato copy were annoying enough already, without the dozens of Flak Batteries trying to keep'em away...

Six got the LOCK signal on the Nuke, before he flipped a few switches and said "Get me close... I want to shoot this thing right down the barrels of the cannons..." before he felt a pit in his stomach as Sev quickly descended to avoid a Hell Dart swarm, then arched up again right over the ship's heavily armed top and leveled off face-to-face with one of its kinetic batteries. The duo were about as calm as you'd expect Spartans to be even in situations like this. The crosshair aligned with the barrel's center in a split second and, within that, the Spartan launched one of the three Nukes present aboard the ship, right down the barrel of the Kinetic Gun, before his brother flew them away.

Thunder echoed and a bright flash enveloped the PACT Warship as everyone was forced to cover their eyes or turn away. A shockwave sent ships tumbling out of their orbits and Ryders struck the ones close to them, shattering their comrades and knocking them of course. Whatever was next to the battleship lost power... And finally, the light cleared, only to see the ship shattered, its front half missing, vaporized.

"Nuclear strike confirmed. Two more nukes available for use..." Six gave a thumbs up "Enemy ships are splitting! _Sunrider,_ this is Foxtrot 2-0. You've got a clear flight path for an exit vector!"

"Copy that..." Kayto said with a smirk. "Damn fine shot with the nuke!"

"Hell yeah!" Icari cheered "Knew it was a good idea to bring you lads up to speed!"

The two Spartans looked to each-other, then nodded as they rushed ahead, followed closely by the Ryders and finally, the _Sunrider_ herself. They headed for the crimson moon of Ryuvia at top speed, firing and moving as they went. Lead flew, Ryders exploded and flak checkered their surroundings. The moon got closer and closer and more and more debris was left in their wake as the Spartans and Ryder pilots surged forth. Six' eyes were locked on the radar and weapons as they flew, until... A massive contact flickered on the Radar. He gasped, then gazed ahead, to see a massive ship appearing from the sun, its forward energy cannon already charging as its Flak and laser batteries turned to greet them...

"FUCK! TITAN!" Yelled Six into the com, waking everyone up to the threat ahead. "MAIN CANNON IS CHARGING, EVASIVE!"

The _Sunrider_ banked hard to starboard just as the ship's massive directed heat energy cannon and other laser batteries fired. The Spartans and pilots all scrambled to dodge, before Sev yelled "BOARDING! NUKE 2 READY FOR LAUNCH!" and Six nodded. He had a split second to aim as the ship moved back, before pressing the trigger and launching the tactical nuclear device. The missile arched toward the enemy ship as Six caught a glimpse of the writing on one of its boons and on the front... _Legion..._

The nuclear detonation flashed just as they and the others scrambled to land in the Hangar. The Aircraft skidded on the solid steel floor, leaving scorch marks and sending sparks flying just like the Ryders. The two Spartans jumped out of the transport vehicle, then ran out and watched as the others disembarked their Ryders, before Sev cued his mic and linked to Shields' comm system and yelled "CAPTAIN, WARP US THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW! I DON'T THINK THAT THING'LL BE TAKEN DOWN SIMPLY BY A NUKE!"

"Roger that..." Kayto said, looking at the _Legion_ emerging unscathed from the massive blast... Just what the fuck was it made out of? "AVA, WARP SOLUTION?"

"COMPLETED! JUMPING!" Ava responded... And with a flash, they were out of there... Thank the heavens...


	4. Home

**_Diode. Remnants of Research Station._**

 ** _-Play Sabaton-Carolus Rex, Stringstorm instrumental variant-_**

Within the confines of a large hall, filled to the brim with Cloning Vats, on the main catwalk's central portion, resided a young woman, with a dainty figure, white hair and blue eyes. She wore a long victorian-era dress colored scarlet with black frills, as well as a black and red bow. Seated at a table, the young woman took a sip of her chamomile tea, regarding each of the vats in the sixty rows, going from the top of the large hall down to the very dark bottom. The place was much like a space cathedral of sorts, its insides lit scarlet by the emergency lighting of the auxiliary generators.

The woman looked ahead as a holographic figure materialized from pixels in the chair across from her. Clad in a scarlet and black PACT admiralty uniform, the golden hilt of a rapier sword hanging from his belt with the sheath and with an ivory goblin mask on his face, his legs crossed, Veniczar Arcadius stared at the woman through the two narrow, tilted vision slits of the mask. He spoke, his voice rough, modified by the mask's internal components "Did you know?"

"Know what?" She returned nonchalantly, taking a sip from her tea. Arcadius growled lowly, then asked again "Did you know? That something like this would appear out of the confines of null space? That they'd join the Captain's crew in saving the Ryuvian? You can read my mind, Zero, even from so far away... You know what I'm talking about, so don't play the innocence card." with a hint of anger in his voice. Zero looked over the brim of the cup, then sighed, placing the little china down onto its plate and setting it on the table. She shook her head, then answered "I have no recollections of them in any of my visions. Whomever the two ironclad soldiers were, they clearly are not of our realm or Galaxy."

Arcadius paused for a moment, watching the dull expression of the girl, before bowing his head "I see... What am I to do if I meet them and that damned Gunship of theirs again? They had nearly sunken the _Legion_ with a Nuclear device. A crude weapon, at that." to which Zero nodded and said "You will keep the dreadnaught out of combat for the battle at Far Port. Stay and observe them... I'll have our agent on the _Sunrider_ work on one of them in the meantime."

"I feel a pang of guilt every time you mention her. She is of same blood as I and you, Zero. And we're using her like a conduit... Thankfully, my guilt passes fast." Arcadius mused. Zero tilted her head forward once, then returned "I feel much the same, but I care for the greater picture as of now. Our mission and plan for humanity require sacrifice, whether voluntary or not. If she wishes so, we can help her keep one of them alive after our mission is completed, as a thank you for her unwitting cooperation in this little travesty of a mission."

Arcadius exhaled, a sound muffled by the mask, then spoke once more "Our parents would not be happy, but alas... I must prepare the fleet for battle. We shall speak after Far Port." and nodded to Zero. The girl hummed, then said "Be careful." regarding the Veniczar. He hummed, then nodded once more, before vanishing and leaving Zero to her own machinations.

"Now..." She sighed, standing up "To work on our dear sister..."

 ** _Sunrider. En-route to Far Port._**

Six resided in the Gunship, checking the nuclear torpedo armaments of the craft, whilst Sev worked on the ship's gun links. The 30mm Nose Cannon, the rocket pods and the flares all seemed to work perfectly. The two Spartans nodded to each-other. Six walked out of the vehicle, a tablet in his hand, then gave Sev a thumbs up, before saying "All's good." and receiving a nod.

"Glad to know..." Sev responded, looking over the data. The man noticed something attached to Six's back, then waved him forth. His brother approached steadily and the two faked looking over the data, before Sev whispered "You still got the package, Six..." to which the Spartan in black armor turned back and gasped, pulling out the item in front of them. The tubular case of glass and metal that shined an eerie azure greeted them.

"I could swear I gave it to the _Autumn's_ Captain..." B312 sighed deeply. Sev nodded and said "You _did..._ I don't know what this is supposed to be anymore, though... We traveled universes and this thing cloned with us or something?" He then whispered. Six shrugged and said "The only way to know it is to pop it open..." before inserting a short code on the side keypad and twisting the top, revealing it with a hiss of steam. A small crystalline chip resided in the middle of a cradle.

"Either our transfer here via Slipstream created a copy, or we're in some loopy land right now." Sev said. He looked to Six, then checked the back of his helmet. A chip induction port. He felt the back of his own helmet, then sighed and said "Well, lil' bro, that's all yours... You've got a chip port on the back of your helmet." to which Six looked at his brother, a slight awe clearly felt through his visor.

The boy looked over to the chip, then wrapped his fingers gently around the item, slowly taking it out of its supporting struts and in-between his index and thumb. The chip was about the size of his gloved thumb, maybe just a bit bigger, but it looked normal enough. He looked to Sev, then asked "You sure I should do this?" to which Sev nodded, before saying "The AI chose you, brother. Get'er up."

Six slightly smiled behind his helmet. His brother'd always been there for him, no matter what. The two were twins, but Sev was generally the older brother due to his birth being like 5 minutes ahead of Six. They also had one hell of a childhood... Something to reminisce after all's said and done. He slid the chip into his helmet and felt a drop in themperature of the breathable air. Probable system reboot as the AI acclimatized herself, something evidenced by the HUD fading and a slight blue mist surrounding him.

The HUD flashed, then turned a light purple and a smooth voice overtook the COM system, that of a young woman's "So this is a MARK V MJOLNIR set. Spacious." before a light gasp was heard and a HOLO-Window appeared on the HUD's top right corner, revealing the face of a beautiful young woman, with short hair. A bowl-cut of sorts. The AI, her avatar purple with black 'clothes', stared at Six, then said with a warm smile "So you're Spartan-B312. A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise... Who are you?" Six whispered.

"Name's Cortana, Lieutenant." The AI answered swiftly and curtly.

"Right, also, call me Six. Sleep well?" The Spartan smirked. The AI chuckled, then said "No thanks to your driving, yes." as she scanned their surroundings via the suit's systems. She hummed, then said "Curious... We're not on a UNSC Vessel, are we?" allowing the Spartan to shake his head. She scratched her chin, then returned "Mhm... Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to figure out my bearings for a moment. I can sense a really weakly-defended network on-board this ship. I just got its name off the transcripts, The CSF _Sunrider._ Quite an advanced vessel... Want me to keep you posted with what I find, Six?"

"Sure. And link to Seven too. He'll want to find out about this." The boy said. The AI hummed, then nodded and said "Gotcha, Six." before she flashed off-screen. The younger Spartan nodded to his twin, then turned about as both heard footsteps, light ones, headed toward them. The duo's footsteps came in contrast, as the soldiers watched a lilac-haired girl with dark-blue eyes, a blue flight suit and white coat over her body, as well as a tablet in hand, approaching. Beside her was the girl they'd rescued, slightly taller than her friend.

"Hey, guys." The cheerful redhead said, grinning. The two Spartans nodded to the girls, then Six said "Hello to you too, ma'am. Doin' alright?" to which the girl gave a slight nod back and said "Yeah, just great, actually!" with cheer. "Name's Asaga, by the way. And the girl next to me" she placed a hand on her comrade's shoulder and said "She's Chigara Lynn Ashada. She's the _Sunrider's_ Chief Engineer."

"I believe we've met before. At least I met your brother, Seven." Chigara nodded to Six, then looked to Seven "I'll bet it must be great to see him awake and walking."

"You ain't got the slightest, Flight Officer Ashada." Sev answered calmly, to which the girl chuckled. She looked to Six, then looked over his armor set with some enthusiasm. "I still cannot believe there's more than one set of this advanced armor. The tech almost seems Ryuvian." to which Asaga quipped "Sure, but it's more bulky than the streamlined aerodynamic and eye-pleasing stuff we have around... Sure, it may be slightly better."

"What're Ryuvians?" The two Spartans asked, with Cortana echoing that in Six' helmet. Asaga tilted her head, then said "You guys clearly aren't from around here, so you would best follow us. We'll explain it to you while we're heading for the Bridge. Capt'n's asked we all be briefed about the upcoming situation." and the two Spartans nodded in agreement. As the group walked out of the cavernous hangar into the elevator, Asaga explained the basics of Ryuvians to them.

"Basically, the Ryuvians were ancient, highly-advanced humans able to modify anything and everything to their whim. The royalty, the Imperial Royal Family only, had access to gene modification, life-enhancing nanomachines and such... Heck, my people even created the Ryder technology, with some rumors even stating we made Time-Travel tech a thing. We were basically Gods at the point our galaxy-wide Empire started falling apart due to infighting and the Civil War between the Fallen and the Royalists. The Fallen vied for power to use in the darkest ways imaginable, while the Royalists were... Well, the lesser of the two Evils."

"Damn." Sev said, arms crossed "Humans will be humans, I guess... There's no Aliens whatsoever here, though. Right?"

"Nope... Just humans and gene-engineered weirdness some times." Asaga shrugged. Sev nodded, then sighed deeply, before saying "And now, another war's up between Humans. Well, we're back to our old tricks, eh, brother?" he then quipped, turning to Six. The Spartan nodded enthusiastically and saluted, then said "Aye, aye, big brother." to which Asaga asked "You two are actually related?"

"Twins." The two answered simultaneously.

"Though I was born 5 minutes ahead." Sev quipped, placing a fist on the left side of his chest.

"Hence me calling him Big Bro. He's kept my ass alive throughout our early life and onto our campaign against the Covies." Six said, then proceeded to give a thumbs up. Chigara looked to Six with a smile, then said "How nice it must be... Wait, what are 'Covies'?" She then asked with curiosity. The two Spartans gazed at each-other, then sighed and said together "Long story."

"We'll take your word for it." Asaga nodded. "We can talk after the Battle."

The two nodded and Sev leaned against the wall of the turbolift, humming a song from ye olden times. Six sighed, then chuckled. He looked to Chigara, then said "Hello again." to which she nodded and smiled "Hello to you too, Six."

"You doing alright, Chief?" He asked her.

"Fine. You?" She returned kindly.

"Just fine and dandy, actually. A bit dizzy after the op still, but I'm recovering." Six nodded. She looked over his armor, then asked "Just how was this set of armor made? It looks almost custom."

"It's a one-size-fits-all, really. As for how it's made, that's kind of a UNSC secret." Six responded calmly. "The UNSC is where we hail from. United Nations Space Command. Navy, Air Force, Military and current government of Terra and all her Colonies. The war we were fighting in against the Covies took a massive toll on us. Nearly a dozen worlds burned, turned to glass and millions dead."

"Jeez..." Asaga said, her usual happy-go-lucky demeanor overturned. Chigara frowned, then looked at the boys and asked "They must be a highly-advanced foe... Alien, I presume?"

"Yeah... Alliance of'em. Theocratic religious bunch. They can all go ta hell for all we care. They attacked without provocation, WITHOUT WARNING." Six clenched his fists tightly around the iron bar, denting it, his voice filled with wrath and anger. Asaga frowned, then returned "Damn right, to hell with'em. If they ain't even out there enough to make contact first, before attackin', they're some kinda cowards."

"Add to that they bomb us from orbit with plasma, yeah. Coward's a word for it. Never call an Elite that to his face... He'll deck you harder than any normal human could." Six quipped. Sev hummed, then said "Hell, sometimes even Spartans can't deal with that much pressure. SOME TIMES. We mostly can." with a grin behind his helmet. Six chuckled, then asked "Remember when we sent that one Elite flying with a pile-drive?"

"Oh, God, he was the first Ayy I saw actually crying in pain." Sev laughed. Six looked to the girls as the Elevator stopped, then told them "Lead the way."


End file.
